The German government has announced plans to launch a special task force aimed at looking into the mental health of pilots and locking mechanisms on cockpit doors.

Alexander Dobrindt made the announcement this morning at a special press conference, where German authorities unveiled their plans to review last week's tragic plane crash.

A total of 150 people died when co-pilot Andreas Lubitz apparently flew a Germanwings Airbus A320 passenger jet into the French Alps.

The 27-year-old is thought to have locked himself in the cabin and intentionally brought the plane down - killing everyone on board.

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It has since been revealed that Lubitz was battled severe mental health issues and had even had treatment for suicidal tendencies before he got his pilot's licence.

At this morning's press conference, Mr Dobrint announced what the task force will be looking at.

He said: "Main questions for the task force will be looking at the door mechanism on planes.

"We also want to look at the procedures on how to get the medical certificate and also psychological criteria and procedures i.e. we want to look at how we can find problems with psychological profiles.

"All of that will have to come into play."

Although the task force aims to look at the key themes mentioned previously, Mr Dobrint also stressed that anything relevant coming out of the police investigation will be examined.

Despite the speed with which much of the investigation has gone so far, Mr Dobrint said the task force would not be rushed and there would be no knee-jerk reaction to any findings.

News of the task force was released after it was revealed this morning that a number of mobile phones have been recovered from the cash site.

Although the phones are thought to hold potentially critical information, none of them have yet been analysed - leading to some claiming footage reportedly taken from the cabin and leaked to the press is not authentic.

The footage emerged on Tuesday and reportedly shows chaotic scenes inside the cabin just seconds before the plane crashes.

ParisMatch, a French magazine, and Bild, Germany's largest tabloid newspaper, said they had 'obtained' the video found among the wreckage of the disaster which killed all 150 people on board.

Originally, Jean-Marc Menichini, the French police official lieutenant-colonel leading the search operation, slammed reports of mobile footage as "totally wrong" and "unwarranted".

A short while later, Mr Robin revealed that the team had in fact recovered "several" mobile phones from the crash site.

He added that none of the phones had yet been examined, but that they were on their way to specialist teams in Rosny-sous-Bois outside Paris.

According to Bild, the footage is extremely blurry and no individuals can be identified, but it is being examined as a key piece of evidence by investigators.

Passenger screams can be heard, including several shouting "My God" in different languages.

Concern: Lubitz was battling severe mental health problems

And crucially, at least three "metallic" bangs are audible.

The video reportedly shows the plane clipping the edge of a mountain, prompting further cries from passengers, before it ends.

Neither Bild nor ParisMatch have published the video, but say it was found by a source close to the investigation.

It was apparently filmed near the very back of the plane, and it is not known whether it was taken by a passenger or a cabin crew member.

Time Line

Timeline: Germanwings plane crash investigation

  1. DAY 1: TUESDAY MARCH 24 9.01am GMT (10.01am local time)

    Germanwings Flight 4U9525 takes off from Barcelona, Spain, and is expected to land in Dusseldorf, Germany, 90 minutes later. It is carrying 150 people - 144 passengers and six crew

  2. 9.15am

    Lubitz and his captain can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder talking 'courteously... like two normal pilots'

  3. 9.27am

    The plane reaches its cruising altitude of 38,000ft as it approaches southern France

  4. 9.30am

    The Airbus A320 makes its final contact with air traffic controllers - a routine message about permission to continue on the route near the settlement of Dignes (pictured)

  5. 9.30am (approx)

    A chair is heard being pushed back and a door shuts. The captain, who was thought to be leaving the cockpit to use the toilet, tells Lubitz: 'You have control'

  6. 9.31am

    Andreas Lubitz presses the button which sets the autopilot on a descent from 38,000ft to 100ft - the lowest possible. The button can only be pressed voluntarily

  7. 9.31am (approx)

    The captain knocks on the cockpit door but there is no reply. His attempts to unlock the door are seemingly blocked

  8. 9.31am - 9.40am

    The captain shouts, uses the intercom and tries to break down the door, even reportedly using an axe. Lubitz (pictured) is silent throughout but still breathing

  9. 9.35am

    French air traffic controllers issue the DETRESFA distress signal after seeing the dramatic drop in altitude and failing to get a response from Lubitz. The plane is treated as a priority for a forced landing

  10. 9.39am (approx)

    Passengers, who included Brit Paul Bramley, can be heard screaming 'at the last moment' as proximity alarms sound inside the plane and they realise what is happening

  11. 9.40am

    Radar picks up the last trace of the plane at 6,175ft, around the same height as the top of the peaks in the French Alps

  12. 9.41am

    The plane hits the mountain at 430mph and smashes into pieces no bigger than a small car. There is thought to be a first impact, with the plane skimming the terrain before hurtling into a ravine

  13. 10.30am

    Reports begin circulating on Twitter that a plane has disappeared from radar in the French Alps. Real-time monitoring mean users can see its dramatic drop in altitude immediately

  14. 10.52am

    Germanwings says it is aware of reports one of its planes has crashed but cannot confirm anything

  15. 11am

    French Prime Minister Manuel Valls confirms the crash and President Hollande says there are 'no survivors' a few minutes later

  16. 1pm

    Germanwings confirms the accident and says it has set up a hotline for victims' families with parent firm Lufthansa

  17. 1.30pm

    First reports emerge of the tragic group of 16 German exchange students who were on board the doomed jet

  18. 2pm

    Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann appears the first of many press conferences and insists the jet was checked by engineers just 24 hours before it flew

  19. 4pm

    First pictures emerge of the crash site, showing scattered pieces of fuselage no bigger than a small car. It's confirmed there are no survivors

  20. 6.30pm

    First pictures of victims emerge, including celebrated opera singer Oleg Bryjak who had performed in Paris, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo

  21. 10pm

    Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says it is likely there were British nationals on board


    Details emerge throughout the day of the three British victims. They were student Paul Bramley from Hull, businessman Martyn Matthews from Wolverhampton, and Julian Pracz-Bandres, a seven-month-old boy from Manchester whose Spanish-born mum Marina was also killed

  23. 11.30am

    Lufthansa's CEO Thomas Winkelmann reveals Germans, Spaniards, Australians and Britons were on board with other passengers from Holland, Japan, Belgium, Argentina, Iran and the US

  24. 12.30pm

    The first photos emerge of the mangled cockpit voice recorder, one of two so-called black boxes - actually coloured orange - which were on board the plane

  25. 2pm

    The leaders of Germany, France and Spain tour the crash site together and pay tribute to the victims

  26. 8.30pm

    Lufthansa announces it will lay on special flights to Marseilles for victims' families the following morning

  27. DAY 3: THURSDAY MARCH 26 1am (approx)

    The New York Times reveals one of the two pilots was locked out of the cockpit and ended up banging on the door, trying to get back in

  28. 9.30am

    Further reports emerge from the French news agency AFP that there was a violent struggle on board the plane

  29. 11.45am

    In a horrifying press conference, Marseilles prosecutor Brice Robin reveals the black box's final recording - which shows co-pilot Andreas Lubitz steered the Airbus deliberately into the mountain after locking the captain out during a toilet break

  30. 12.15pm

    First picture emerges of Lubitz as it's revealed he became a first officer with Lufthansa in 2013 after years of being a flight attendant

  31. 1.30pm

    Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr admits Lubitz's training was 'interrupted' six years ago but insists he was '100% fit to fly'

  32. 4.30pm

    Police search Lubitz's Dusseldorf home and his parents' house in the town of Montabaur, removing a 'key' piece of evidence which is revealed the next day

  33. 6pm

    easyJet reveals it is changing its rules so two people must always be in the cockpit. Other airlines quickly follow suit

  34. DAY 4: FRIDAY MARCH 27

    Reports become firmly established in the German media that Lubitz had mental health problems and depression. Bild reports that he had 18 months of psychiatric help during his Lufthansa training

  35. 9am

    Germanwings asks TfL, who run the London Underground, to remove advertising with the unfortunate slogan 'get ready to be surprised'

  36. 10.30am

    Aviation authorities confirm Lubitz had an ongoing medical condition on his file, but will not say what the condition was

  37. 11.45am

    German prosecutors reveal they have found a torn-up sick note at Lubitz's home - from the day of the crash - which says he should not have been working. They say he was hiding the illness from his employers

  38. 1pm

    It's revealed victims' families could receive up to £700,000 each, or £93,000 even if Lufthansa is in no way at fault. The Airbus A320 was reportedly insured for £4.4million

  39. 3.30pm

    It's revealed Lubitz had been to hospital on March 10, just two weeks before the crash